About this course

Entry requirements

UK Upper Second Class Honours degree (2:1) or equivalent.

Relevant research experience will also be considered

• This course is designed especially for those who are interested in progressing to doctoral research in Byzantine studies, particularly in reading and editing Byzantine texts from manuscripts. It also aims to relate Byzantine history to the wider world. We accept applications from students with different academic backgrounds, including classics, history, theology, philosophy, literature, law, education and palaeography.

• Interviews are usually offered to applicants and in some cases an essay sample is required. Applicants who are unable to attend an interview, such as overseas students, will be interviewed by telephone.

English language requirements:

IELTS 6.5 overall with 7.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in all other subscores

Months of entry

September

Course content

The MA in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies enables students to specialise in an exciting and multi-faceted field of study that covers the history and culture of the Mediterranean world during the long millennium from the foundation of Constantinople in 324 to the fall of the Byzantine empire in 1453. Taking this MA at Royal Holloway is ideal if you are interested in progressing to doctoral research in Byzantine studies, particularly in reading and editing Byzantine texts from manuscripts. It can also lead to careers in education, journalism, finance, politics and cultural sectors.

You will be taught by experts from the College’s Hellenic Institute, a research centre for the diachronic and interdisciplinary study of Hellenism. The Hellenic Institute brings together areas of teaching and research in which Royal Holloway has long excelled: the study of the language, literature and history of Ancient Greece and Byzantine Studies. The Institute promotes the study of Greek language, literature and history, from the archaic and classical age, through the Hellenistic and Roman times, Byzantium and the Post-Byzantine period, to the establishment of the Modern Greek State and the modern world.

There is an extraordinarily wide choice of courses available, drawing on the resources of the whole of the University of London including a range of modules in research skills (ancient languages, palaeography, epigraphy, papyrology) and those that will develop your critical and conceptual understanding of the field through a variety of disciplines (history, literature, material culture, philosophy).

Byzantine Studies at Royal Holloway have a long tradition, the first taught MA degree course was established here.

To enable students to benefit from the expertise across the University of London this degree is delivered through an intercollegiate arrangement. Students should register at the College where staff interests align to their own, as this is where they will undertake their dissertation.

Participate in a number of research projects and seminars, lectures and conferences hosted by the Hellenic Institute.

Royal Holloway has one of the largest and liveliest History departments in the UK yet our size is not at the cost of anonymity; you will receive our individual attention and become part of our close-knit post graduate community.

Fees and funding

Qualification and course duration

MA

full time

12 months

part time

24 months

Further details of qualification

This programme, leading to a University of London federal Master's degree in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, is constructed especially for those who want a training in language, palaeography and the use of historical evidence before embarking on doctoral research in Byzantine Studies.